Teaching union claims extra £4bn for Send overhaul just ‘drop in bucket’ compared with what’s needed – UK politics live

Full details of government plans to be published this morning with reforms partly driven by move to contain soaring costs

Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor.

Here is the full quote from Luke Sibieta of the Institute for Fiscal Studies on the Send reform plans as announced overnight. (See 9.50am.)

The government is proposing a major set of reforms, with more funding and support provided upfront through mainstream schools– as already happens in Scotland and Wales. To enable this change, the government will provide about £1bn per year to mainstream schools and local authorities to deliver more support and specialist services. This is a reasonably significant change, considering that extra Send funding for mainstream schools and local authority support services currently totals about £5bn per year. The government will be hoping that more upfront support and early intervention saves them money by reducing the need for expensive support currently provided through education, health and careplans (EHCPs).

Reform will be a long and complicated process. If mainstream schools are to play a bigger role, how can we be sure they make decisions in a consistent and fair way? A new funding system will be needed to ensure resources are targeted across schools to where they are needed. There will need to be a plan to upskill and expand the workforce to ensure mainstream schools can play an expanded role. The government will need to manage the transition carefully to ensure minimal disruption to existing support for pupils. More focus on outcomes will also be needed to improve quality.

My father always used to say: “Nick has achieved just as much as you, Keir.” It was a pointed observation. Like so many working-class children of my generation, I was the first in my family to go to university. And for families like ours, there is deep pride in that. Inevitably, you get put on a pedestal.

But my dad was right. I believed him then and I believe him just as strongly now. Because I saw how much Nick had to fight every day just to be seen. To count. To be recognised by an education system that never had any expectations for him because he had difficulties learning.

I want this country to see and value the contribution every single person can make.

It’s a cause that can only start with an education system grounded in those same values. I should be clear – Britain has come a long way since the Seventies and Eighties. For all our problems, we do have a more inclusive and tolerant society. Our schools have improved markedly, under both Labour and Conservative governments. But not for every child.